Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony. It is only accessible by boat and air, and it was once known for being home to a deaf community. The island had a population of 16,535 people in 2010.

In 1700, the island had a population of 400 people; in 1800, this grew to 3,100 people. During the middle of the 19th century, a quarter of people in the village of Chilmark were deaf; both hearing and deaf were fluent in sign language, which developed in isolation (the hearing were considered outsiders).

The deaf gene traces back to Jonathan Lambert, who emigrated from Weald, Kent in 1694. Immigration to the island stopped by 1710, and the isolated and endogamous population led to deafness soaring. By the mid-1800s, children began to be schooled on the mainland, and the island's population continued to expand, with Portuguese immigrants from the Azores arriving. The people became exogamous, the population became diluted, and the deaf community disappeared during the 1980s. The island became known as a summer paradise, with many vacationers arriving there to observe its scenic Atlantic view.